The End
by Neurotica
Summary: One-Shot. Revised. Lily and James' final day on 31 October 1981


**Disclaimer: I do not own the situations or characters you recognize in this story. That privilege belongs solely to J.K. Rowling.**

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* * *

**_**The End**_

By Neurotica

James Potter opened his hazel eyes and stared at the white ceiling in their bedroom. He turned his head to the left and quickly noted the vacant spot. He turned to the right and looked at the Muggle alarm clock Lily had absolutely insisted they buy. It said 11:32 a.m.

Deciding now was as good a time as any to get up, James got out of bed, picked up his wand, and waved it over the unmade four poster bed. He never did as good a job on with household spells as Lily or his mother, but it wasn't like they wouldn't be sleeping there again tonight. Why bother?

Another thing James didn't bother with that morning was changing out of his red flannel pajama pants. On a normal day, he'd have to worry about Sirius being down in the kitchen stealing his breakfast, or one of Lily's friends sitting in the living room, but no one had visited them in days. Not that anyone could...

Scratching his bare chest, trying to ignore the misery that threatened to overtake him, James left the bedroom and headed down the stairs to find his family. His family... Four years ago if you'd told James Harold Potter that he would have a family by this time with the woman of his dreams, he'd tell you that you were crazy, then prank you unmercifully. It was a known fact that Lily Evans had hated James Potter with a passion.

James stepped off the last stair and turned a corner as he heard the familiar giggle of his son. He entered the kitchen and found the black-haired green-eyed junior Marauder on the linoleum floor playing with some Muggle toy cars. Sirius had charmed them a few months ago to drive on their own, but after they kept hitting James in the ankles at random moments (something James was sure Sirius had done on purpose), Lily had taken the charm off.

"Dad!"

James smiled widely as Harry called for him. He still couldn't get over the fact that he had helped create such a perfect being. "Well, good morning, Harry," James said, picking Harry up off the floor. One of the toy cars was still in Harry's small hand, and the child proceeded to use his father's arm as a road. "Where's your mummy, huh? Did she run off on us again?"

"Ma!" Harry cried, giggling.

"Did I hear my name?"

James turned around and spotted his beautiful red headed wife leaning against the doorframe with a smile on her face. "No, he was talking about his other mother," James said with a straight face, walking to his wife.

"Ha ha," Lily said sarcastically, allowing James a good morning kiss.

Two small hands separated them and James looked down at his son. Harry obviously didn't like to see his parents snogging in the kitchen.

"Sorry, mate," James said, ignoring Lily's giggles. "So what's on the agenda for today, my lovely?"

Lily's smile faded a bit. "Same as yesterday," she said quietly.

"Right," James muttered. The past two days had been the exact same for the young Potter family. They couldn't go out, they couldn't see their friends, but at least they had each other. "Well, my dear, if you would be so kind as to take this little monster, I believe I will take a shower."

Lily rolled her eyes and took her awaiting son from her husband's arms. "He's not a monster, James. Are you a monster, Harry?"

"Ya!" Harry said, smiling with his three little teeth.

"Told you!" James laughed, heading back up the stairs.

* * *

As James stood under the stream of hot water cascading over his body, he thought hard about what they'd done, and if it was the right thing to do.

It had been an absolute necessity to go into hiding. James had thought briefly about sending Lily and Harry into hiding on their own and staying with Sirius to fight, but he couldn't bear being apart from them. James had always been a fighter and the feeling of hiding—even if it was from Lord Voldemort—depressed him.

What was more, he'd been separated from his best friends. He hadn't been without the Marauders since he was eleven. Thoughts of what could, and probably would, happen to them in the future weighed heavily on his mind.

He hadn't spoken to Remus in months. Sure, he missed the sensible werewolf, he missed him like hell. But Sirius was convinced of Remus' disloyalty. James had his doubts; Remus wasn't the type to sell his friends out for power or whatever Death Eaters got. The facts, however, were still there: There was a traitor in their midst.

It most definitely wasn't Sirius; Sirius hated Dark Magic with a passion only matched by his love for women and mischief. And Peter... James had to laugh at the thought; Peter was afraid of his own shadow at times. He'd probably die of fright at the sight of Voldemort.

Remus though... Remus was smart, and a werewolf to boot. Werewolves were known targets for Death Eater recruiting. He didn't want to believe it, but over the past months, he had found himself treating Remus differently. The distrust he'd gained for his friend had grown so large it had actually started fights between him and Lily. Remus was one of Lily's best friends; he had been the brother she never had since third year at Hogwarts. She'd never, not even for one nano second, believed Remus was the spy.

Sighing heavily, James turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a white fluffy towel from the rack and began to dry himself. He tied the towel around his waist and headed back to their bedroom.

Lily and Harry were lying on the bed when he entered. Lily was reading some book, and Harry was sitting on her stomach, bouncing up and down.

"You know, sweetie, that's quite distracting," Lily muttered without any real conviction, not taking her eyes off the book.

"I think he's hinting that he wants to play, Lily," James said, pulling a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt from his dresser drawer.

"Good, you can play with him while I read."

James chuckled and got dressed. "I see how it is. Mummy doesn't want to play with us anymore. Maybe we should prank her. What do you think, Harry?" Harry only giggled louder as James flopped down next to Lily on the bed.

"Prank me and reap the repercussions, Potter," Lily threatened. James could see her smiling from behind the book.

"It'll be worth it, _Evans_." He smirked.

Finally, Lily lowered her book and glared at her husband. James looked back innocently. "You're hopeless." Lily smiled.

"Mmm, but you love me and you know it."

"That's what you think."

James only smirked and leaned over to kiss Lily rather passionately. By the time he had finished with her, she had a very dopey un-Lily-like expression on her face. "Tell me you don't love me," he whispered.

"Maybe a little," she muttered, her eyes still closed.

"Uh huh. Come on, Harry, let's go downstairs and let Mummy read her book," James said, getting off the bed and taking his son with him.

Lily was left with a dumbfounded expression.

* * *

"Who's this, Harry?" James said, sitting in front of the fifteen-month-old holding a stuffed animal shaped like a black dog.

"Pafoo..." Harry said, taking the dog and hugging it to his chest.

"That's right. That's Padfoot. We'll see him again soon, I hope... You know, if we weren't stuck in this blasted house, Mummy and I would take you prank-or-eating tonight. Mummy says she used to love it when she was little. Maybe next year, eh?"

Harry gave no indication that he was even listening. That didn't matter to James, though. Just the fact that Harry was there was enough for him. James couldn't wait to have more children running around their house. There were still three rooms to fill, after all, not including the room Sirius used when he was too drunk to Floo or Apparate home.

Being an only child growing up, James wanted a big family. Harry wouldn't have to wait until Hogwarts to find his friends and brothers.

"James?" Lily called from the kitchen.

"Yes, the light of my life?" James called back sweetly.

The kitchen was quiet for a few moments, and James could almost see Lily rolling her eyes. "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

Making sure Harry was occupied for the moment, James stood from his spot on the floor and went into the kitchen. Lily was leaning against the kitchen counter. James put his arms on either side of her and placed his head in the crook of her neck. Lily began rubbing his back consolingly, already knowing what was going on in his mind.

"It'll be over soon," was all she said.

"I know, but Halloween isn't the same without them."

Lily chuckled. "What do you want for dinner tonight, baby?" she asked again.

James put his chin on her shoulder and stared at the wall in thought. "What about that messy noodle stuff you made last year when the boys were over?"

"Spaghetti?"

"Yeah, that."

"Okay, go play with Harry."

"You sure you don't want my help?"

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Out," she commanded. "You are never again allowed to cook. We've discussed this."

"Yes, dear."

* * *

Dinner that night was an interesting affair. Lily and James spent most of it watching as Harry discarded the fork they'd given him, and dug into his spaghetti.

"I think he likes this stuff a little too much," James said, scooping a meatball into his mouth.

"I have pictures of Petunia and me when we were younger eating spaghetti. We've got noodles all down our front, and sauce all on our faces and in our hair," Lily said, smiling.

James raised an eyebrow and looked at his wife. "You have pictures of Petunia... messy?" Lily nodded. "Can we _Engorgio_ those and send them to our friends?"

For the third time that day, Lily rolled her eyes at James.

* * *

The dishes were done, Harry had been bathed, and the Potter family was now sitting in front of a roaring fire with an old werewolf movie playing on the television. James was quick to point out facts about the movie that were completely wrong about werewolves, having spent many a full moon night with one himself. Lily knew how much he missed Remus, but also knew James would never admit it aloud.

Lily was lying with her head in James' lap, Harry asleep right next to her. Out of nowhere, James said, "You think Peter's all right?"

Lily looked up and smiled. "Of course he is," she assured him. James nodded and looked into the fire. Lily sighed and continued watching the movie.

Not an hour later, Harry woke up crying. Lily and James tried everything they knew to calm him. He didn't need a new diaper, he wasn't hungry (not after all the chocolate frogs he'd shared with James after dinner), and he surely didn't want to play.

Harry stopped crying just as suddenly as he'd started and stared out the sitting room window. "What's he looking at?" Lily asked, straining her eyes to look out into the dark neighborhood. They could see out, but no one could see in.

"Wohmtail..." Harry muttered. James raised an eyebrow. "Wormtail's not here, Harry. Do you want your stuffed rat?" he asked.

He was about to summon the toy from Harry's room when the television and the fire went out simultaneously. None of them uttered a sound or made a move. James handed Harry to Lily and took his wand off the coffee table. He stood slowly and felt a hand tug on his shirt. He motioned for Lily and Harry to keep quiet, and made his way to look around the corner into the hallway. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring into the dark. The front door lock clicked, and the doorknob began to slowly turn. James could only watch... his breathing stopped. That wasn't Peter...

"Shit,,," he muttered. "Lily! It's him! Take Harry and run!" he shouted, turning to his wife and son.

Lily stood quickly. James could see her green eyes go wide. "James..." she whispered.

"Go!" he said more forcefully.

"I love you, James."

"I love you, too," he said, kissing his wife and son. "Go!"

Lily ran up the stairs and turned the corner just as the door was blown off the hinges. Apparently, even _he_ couldn't open the door on his own.

The first thought that hit James' mind as he set eyes on Lord Voldemort for the fourth time in his young life was Peter. There was only one way Voldemort could be here now, and that was if Peter had sold them out. _Oh my god..._

"Well, hello, James Potter," Voldemort said, entering the Potter home.

"Get out," James growled, holding his wand at the ready.

Voldemort laughed. "Now, now, Potter, have some manners..."

"Manners? Like the ones you used when you blew my door of its hinges?" _Keep talking... give Lily time to get out..._

"Believe me, James, that door isn't going to matter in a few minutes," Voldemort countered.

"Oh yeah? And why would that be?" James asked.

"Because you'll be dead," Voldemort said simply.

"_Stupefy_!" It was a useless curse in a duel against Voldemort, but James had to try. Voldemort blocked it easily, and a duel broke out. Voldemort used the Cruciatus Curse twice, James blocked it both times. James used a few useless spells, then threw out a Reductor curse. None of them got through.

Spells flew from the tip of each wand so quickly it amazed James that his hadn't exploded from the force of the battle. He finally broke through Voldemort's barriers with a cutting curse, hitting the Dark Lord on the shoulder, causing a large gash to form.

"Very clever, Potter," Voldemort said. It was obvious he was becoming annoyed by James' persistence. "But this is starting to get old. Why don't we end this now? It may be quick and painless. I don't know; I have never died..." Voldemort began to laugh.

James wasn't going to die. He couldn't die... he was only twenty-one years old... But the next moment he heard those two words... saw the green jet of light shoot from Voldemort's wand tip... felt the rush of death speed towards him... and he knew it was over. There was no blocking the Killing Curse after all.

In seconds, images flashed before James' very eyes... Meeting his friends for the first time... the first time he'd seen Lily... his first Quidditch match... hearing Lily say yes to a date with him, and eventually to marriage... The day Lily told him she was pregnant... Asking Sirius to be the godfather... Seeing Harry for the first time...

It was amazing how fast a light could travel, even though it seemed to take an eternity. James felt death rush towards him and saw Voldemort's triumphant face. His last thoughts were of the Marauders... the real Marauders... not the group after Hogwarts... but the four boys who had united in the love of a good prank. Lily and Harry... God, how he loved them... He only hoped they got out somehow...

James Potter's world went black seconds later.


End file.
